Oklahoma’s in-person early voting occurred this past week, just days before Election Day– starting on October 30, 2024, and ending on November 2, 2024. The turnout has been reported to have surpassed the 2020 election, with record-breaking numbers of 292,684 early voters who attended in person. As for mail-in ballots, officials have reported more than 100,000 people have returned absentee ballots by Monday morning. The election board and poll workers alike were shocked by the increase in early voters.
Due to my distance from home and conflicting school scheduling for election day, I made an effort and headed back to Oklahoma City to vote early. The day I got home, my family had told me it would be hours waiting in the line from Oklahoma County and Edmond locations. Testing our luck, we went, and sure enough, it was crowded, and our chances of being seen then were slim. The line looped from the building and started to snake near the main street. It continued to grow, but progression stalled. The absence of police presence showed the delay in incoming traffic and the line getting into the building.
That was until the last day of early voting. The turnout was doubled since more people had time to do their part and vote on Saturday. The police had formed a system to have traffic move smoothly and people in and out of the polling sites promptly. We left early that morning and secured our spots in line. We coincidentally bumped into old childhood friends while in line, and spirits were high all around as history was being made. Everyone at the polls that day played a part. It was a small price to pay as we waited in line for three hours, but we secured our vote and had our voices heard.
Many locations across the country have reported high numbers of early voters turning in their mail-in ballots or showing up in person. Election day is finally here, and the results will be revealed soon. Tune in later with Good Morning Indian Country on Facebook for live election updates.
